Sundance Film Festival Recap!

I'm a week or so late, but I wanted to post a picture or two from the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. When my dad moved up there a few years ago (my parents commute from Dallas to Park City every weekend...crazy, I know!)...we started going up there for Christmas to ski. It's always a blast!

This year, we decided to spend Christmas in Dallas and go to Park City during the Sundance Film Festival. We had a GREAT time and saw some really great movies. I saw 5 movies in three days. If you think that's a lot, you should hear some of the die-hard movie-goers.....they see over 20 in two weeks! To think I was almost movie'd out after 5.

They were all INCREDIBLE films, but they were all pretty "deep". They didn't necessarily have the "warm and fuzzy" endings and famous movie stars, but they all made you really think about life etc. After the movie, the cast and director would go up on stage and answer questions from the audience. It was so interesting to hear the real story and the background on how these films were made....very low budget.

You realize how many GREAT movies fall through the cracks...and never made it to the BIG SCREEN...because they can't get investors etc. It's a crazy business. You really appreciate the passion of these actors.

Movies we saw:

The Shrink - We went to the premier! Kevin Spacey was the "shrink" and he was there answering questions. I really think the movie will get picked up. We loved it!


Adventureland - This movie sparked some interest...and I think it will make it to local theatres. It kind of had a "Juno" feel to it.



ADAM - I LOVED this movie. I think it was my favorite.

Helen - I love Ashley Judd. This was a sad movie about depression.

Push - Sundance Award Winner! (it. was. intense.)

We went out one night, but didn't see any celebrities. The only celebrities we saw were the ones in the "cast" in the films we saw. Everyone was at the Inauguration! haha. It was the second week at Sundance...and apparently, the first week is when the movie stars all go. We saw a ton of paparazzi waiting on main street. It was crazy. We did sit next to one of the writers for the Saprano's in one movie. I'm sure there were a ton of famous "industry" people around that we didn't recognize.

The best part about skiing during Sundance is that NO ONE is on the slopes. Unfortunately, it rained/sleeted most of the time we were there....so it was miserable skiing conditions. It was also super foggy. You couldn't see two fee in front of you...which is just scary on the slopes. You can see how miserable I was below....

Not our best ski picture.....this was right before I dropped my camera in the snow. Nice.

T Minus 1 DAY until wood floors!!!!!

Super Bowl Cake!

2009 SUPER BOWL CAKE!!!!

After slaving in the kitchen for two hours on Sunday, I finally completed the infamous 2009 Super Bowl Cake. I have to say that I'm pretty proud of myself. I wish the writing was a bit better, but you just can't control those aerosol icing pumps like you used to. The field was yellow cake and the football was chocolate (all 50% less sugar)...so people had a choice. My initial plan was to put the football in the middle of the cake. However, the field came out smaller than I had invisioned...and the football was much bigger than I thought. I had to improvise.

I WISH I would have taken a picture of the kitchen. It was a disaster. If you have never been in our house, our kitchen is completely white. When you so much so much as drop a coffee drip on the counter, it stains. Therefore, you can imagine what the counter looked like with all that food coloring and icing. It took 6 different bowls alone to make all the colors, and I also used an ENTIRE roll of paper towls. I didn't want to ruin or stain one of my good dishtowls...so every time I had to wipe my hands....off came another paper towel! haha.

Every time that James would walk past the kitchen and shake his head....I just told him that I am practicing for when we have kids. I'm gonna save us money by making homemade birthday cakes...and not having to buy the fancy ones! :)

Anyone an "Ace of Cakes" fan out there? I think good ol Duff at Charm City Cakes would have been pleased! I tried to "shave" the cake into a football like they do on the show, but let me tell you folks....it's not as easy as it looks.

As for the Super Bowl, I got into the actual game with about 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter. I'm totally bummed that the Cardinals lost. I also thought the half-time show was lame and the commercials were boring. I DID think that Jennifer Hudson did an AMAZING job singing the national anthem though.

SUPER BOWL WEEKEND!!!!

It's that time again! I just LOVE watching the Super Bowl. I love the excitement...I love the commercials....I love the half-time show.....I love playing the squares game....I love it all. I ALWAYS watch until the very end...through the trophy presentation, coaches speech, and the MVP player. I love watching the players grab their kids and kiss their wives. I'm usually an emotional mess by that time. I think I picture being a mom and watching your child get the highest honor in the sport of football.

I also LOVE when they show all the players back in the locker room pouring champagne all over themselves. How fun does that look? Seriously. I hope there is a time in my life where I am just so happy that I pour champagne all over my body. Surely it ruins the carpet and furniture. I wonder that EVERY time I watch this going on.

The ONLY time I didn't watch all the celebration was when they had that really dramatic episode on Grey's Anatomy following the game. I can't remember if it was the "bomb" episode or what, but they played that preview every single commercial break. It was before we had DVR, so James and I RACED home from a party to watch it. James might have even gone 5 above the speed limit that night. Come to think of it, he probably just told me that to calm me down.

We've have hosted several Super Bowl parties in the past. This year, James said that we had to stop hosting parties if we really wanted these hardwood floors. I think the reason I love the Super Bowl parties so much because there is a legitimate theme. Napkins, serving platters, food, games, attire...everything can become a theme.

Last year, I found this GREAT idea in Every Day Rachel Ray, my all-time favorite magazine. It was the perfect dessert for a super bowl party, and I was so excited.

CoCoa Krispie Treat Footballs

Note: This is the picture from the magazine. How cute are those? Now...mine DID NOT turn out ANYTHING like this picture. It was a complete disaster. They were so sticky that I couldn't form them. I didn't have enough time for them to completely harden. By the time that I got a few shaped like a football, I had completely crumbled all the krispies. Then...after a few minutes....they started drooping...almost melting on the pan. I tried to make the white lines with icing and it was a total flop. I still brought them...to show that I put forth the effort. They still tasted good. Who doesn't love to pick at a rice krispie treat, right?

This year, I found a NEW recipe/idea I'm going to try. I think it will be SUPER cute. Stay tuned for pictures on Monday! Hopefully, it will turn out better than last year! Go Cardinals!

T minus 1 WEEK until Hardwood Floors!

I realize that its been two months since I've posted last, but I'm back! I could give a million reasons why I have been such a slacker with my blog, but I'll spare you. I've decided that I will blog more if I stop thinking so much about what to post....or how to make it funny.....and then editing it several times before posting. It just takes way too long!

I'll post some pictures from Christmas and the Sudance Film Festival soon. Our big news though is that we are getting hardwood floors in our house NEXT WEEK! I am SO excited. We have spent the past several weekends bringing home samples and getting quotes from companies all around town. It's been exhausting and discouraging. Of course, ALL the wood we loved was the most expensive, and you don't want to settle with something you don't like.

One company quoted us significantly lower than all the others. It was still higher than we wanted to pay, but we were considering it. James HATES negotiating. He's actually terrible at it. He has the patience of a 4 year old and always gives in WAY to early. I, on the other hand, have no shame...as we've all seen with my celebrity pictures.

That's when he made me a deal. Whatever I negotiate the final price to be, he will give me the difference from the original quoted price to spend on furniture/rugs! So what does a girl do?????

Pearls - check!

Preppy pink cardigan around the shoulders - check!

high patent leather pumps - check!

Extra mascara & lipstick - check!

I marched right down to that warehouse full of men ready to make me a deal. I joked around and laughed. I wouldn't say it was flirting per say....but I definitely started out playing the role of the naive wife who knows NOTHING about hardwood floors. Little did they know that I had memorized ALL of our measurements...and price points. I also mentioned about how I have this "friend" that sells the exact brand of wood that I wanted...and he was going to cut me a deal. The assured me that they could beat it.

20 minutes later..

I walked outta there with the best deal in town. I knocked it down a good $1,000!!! hahaha. Installation and everything! They even said they would pull up all our vinyl floor for free because I was so nice! The manager even said that the probably wouldn't make a dime off my project because they are selling the wood at cost! James was so proud!!!!

Now...they DID say that we would save money if we bought and painted all our quarter rounds ourselves. If you dont' know much about flooring, it's the edging around wall. Looks like James and I will be at Home Depot this weekend!!! I'm so excited! All I can think about is how different our house will look ...and how I'm going to decorate! I'm gonna hit up some consignment stores this weekend.

My inspiration rooms:

I love the white chairs with the table in between. I'm finally going to be able to buy the IKEA white chairs! woohoo! I also love the stacked books on the coffee table.

I LOVE these chair covers. I am going to try and 'make' these for our dining room chairs. I also love the sconces...and the blue/grey paint color with the goldish curtains.

I love this chandelier and the color of the room. I also love that they put the curtains higher than the window to make the room look bigger.

We have this small space when you first walk in the house...in the dining room. I thought this pretty way to use the space. A table with two chairs ..and curtains. I will FINALLY be putting curtains up in the front room. I also love the stacked books.

I love the way the two rugs work in this room. I definitely want to use get a jute rug for the front room. I also LOVE mirrored funiture. Love, love, love. It probably wouldn't go with our funiture now..but one day!

I just love the mirror and antique cabinet. I think it looks formal, but casual at the same time.
I have LOVED this coffee table for over a year now. It would be my entire decorating budget...so I need to find a knock off.

I have also LOVED this mirrored cabinet. It would go perfect in this little nook in our house, but it's not practical...we don't need it...and it probably wouldn't match everything else. oh, but I love it!

AS SEEN ON TV

I’ve wanted to post about this for a while. No one knows this better than James, but I am a SUCKER for infomercials. The moment one of those infomercials comes on, I’m in a trance. Now with that being said, I DO have enough self control not to pick up the phone and order a product just because there is a limited time offer for $19.95. BUT I HAVE purchased SEVERAL items at Bed Bath and Beyond in the “As Seen on TV” section.

Therfore, I wanted to do a review of some products I have tried, as well as share some of the products that I am DYING to try. Hopefully, this will help some of your future impulse purchases.

Reviews:

1. Ped-Egg

I have the WORST feet. I don’t know if I walk too hard in my heals or what, but there is so much dry and callously skin. When I get a pedicure, it is not uncommon for the ladies to laugh and point at my feet to the other ladies. It’s like I’m a circus animal and everyone has to come see for themselves. The first time I saw this product in BBB, I was sold! I just pictured myself like the lady in the commercial…rubbing it on my feet really quick before I went to bed….magically making my feet soft and smooth.


Review: NOT WORTH THE MONEY. You literally have to rub this thing on your foot for an HOUR to feel any difference. I tried it when my foot was both wet and dry. It didn’t make a difference. My foot was just as callously when I woke up the next day. AND..this might be T.M.I. (too much information) BUT…to get the sucker open to empty it out…you need super human strength…and when it finally pops open…the dead skin flies EVERYWHERE!!! It’s AWFUL! I apologize for being gross, but this is the stuff you need to know.

2. Lateral Thigh Trainer

I bought this at BBB for an incredible steal. I thought it would be perfect to use while I was watching TV in my apartment. My thought was that I would get on every time I watched those "Friends" reruns right when I got home from work. When you watch the commercial, it seems like a BEST idea. You get to watch how many calories you are burning while it tones not only your leg, but your whole body. Then you just slide it under your bed when you are finished. Who doesn’t want that?
Review: IT’S STILL EXERCISE, BUT WORSE. First, it probably weighs 40 pounds. So your workout really starts by just carrying it from your car to your apt. By the time I got it up 3 flights of stairs, I had to call it a day. I MAYBE used it three times. It's just NOT a normal body movement. It’s impossible to get the rhythm going because you have nothing to hold on to…so by the time you try to go as fast as the lady in the infomercial, you basically fall off. I swear that lady must have some kind of invisible rope holding her up during the taping. And to top it all off, it wasn’t even close to fitting under the bed. Needless to say, I just left it in my apartment when I moved.

3. Space Saver - Vacuum Seal Bags

We found these at Costco after seeing them in a few commercials. You basically fill these bags with clothes, pillows, blanket etc. and then vacuum seal. It’s supposed to shrink the pile to 1/3 of the actual size. The selling point is that you will literally be able to fit 3 times to amount of stuff in your small closet. Because our home does not have that much storage space, James and I were sold!


Review: WORTH EVERY PENNY – We LOVE these bags!!! They work exactly like the commercial. It is truly amazing when you actually watch the vacuum seal happening. And you really CAN fit 3 times as many blankets and pillows into your closet. AND…the bags slide perfectly under the bed. I don’t even remember how we lived before we had these bags. It’s a must have for sure!

Things I am DYING to try:

1. SHAM WOW towels. Have you people seen the demonstration? The amount of water this towel can hold is mind boggling. Especially when it soaks up the coke from the carpet..even the under-layers are dried up. Who doesn’t need that? I think it would be the perfect gift for a guy. They can dry their entire car with one towel. Every time I see that commercial, I think of that Real World/ Road Rules extreme challenge finale two years ago when they had to fill up a big pale of water by soaking up water from the ocean with towels and then running up the beach and ringing out the water into the pale. If they only had the shamwow towels!

2. Detox Foot Patches – This is a pad that you stick on your foot at night and it soaks up all the toxins in your body. When you wake up, you have more energy and feel better. The more toxins you have, the dirtier the pad is when you take it off. According to the commercials, people feel so much better after using these. And after reading about it online, it's very scientific. Now..before you judge, I realize this sounds ridiculous. But for $9.99, why not give it a try. Who doesn’t want to get rid of toxins? I’d rather try and simple pad on my foot over some kind of random diet that cleans you out. Who’s with me?


3. Debbie Meyer Green Bags – Have you SEEN the before and after pictures? Every time I see this commercial, I think of all the money I would save on groceries. We always have to throw away old fruit and vegetables because we go out of town for a few days or something comes up and we didn’t end up eating at home. How nice would it be if you didn’t have to worry about that anymore? You knew they would be fresh for another whole week! SOLD!


If any of you have reviews on the products above, I would love to hear them!

I mean…Is it sad that I’m looking forward to getting on a plane in a few weeks because I can browse the Sky Mall magazine? Who doesn’t love that magazine? Those products are BRILLIANT! I always take them with me just in case I want to buy something later. Don’t worry, I always ask the attendant and they say its fine! ;)

I got THE BOOT.

Working downtown can be nice…fun restaurants at lunch, a million happy hour places after work, and the pure excitement and energy that comes from tourists visiting the capitol every day. However sometimes it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. There are several disadvantages that come along with working in the Capitol complex. …the PARKING.

Our parking garage is THREE blocks away from our building. UPHILL. No lie. I have worn out several pairs of expensive heals, sweat through my suits in the summer walking to the office….not to mention the trials and tribulations when it rains or hails. You get my point. It’s not ideal. The only benefit is that I get the satisfaction that I’ve burned of a few more calories a day than planned.

Every now and then, I have to load my car with materials for an event I’m planning (gift baskets, signage, binders…you name it). When this happens, I park my car in a “loading zone” in front of the building. I REFUSE to take several trips to load my car THREE BLOCKS away. No ma’am. That was NOT in the job description.

On a few occasions, I’ve left my in front of the building until the end of the day. I received ONE parking ticket from the Capitol DPS last year and protested the fine. They are always so nice. So when I didn’t hear back, I assumed they just took it off my record.

Well friends…several weeks ago I tested my luck again and got the BOOT. Apparently, the ticket from the previous year was not removed. Well, my coworkers thought it was so funny that they took this picture from our office of me in complete panic mode.

The only real unfortunate thing was that the coworker who took the picture knows James….and had already emailed it to him at work with the subject line “she’ll never learn”. Awesome.

I ended up paying the fine. They took off the boot, and I got on with my day. Moral of the story - Did I learn my lesson? Sure…pay your parking tickets. Will I ever test my luck again and park there again? Probably so! :)

I have no shame....

Well, folks....I had another celebrity sighting today! I'm in Atlanta for work and was at the CNN Center downtown waiting for a meeting...and who walks up to the security desk, you ask?

Mr. RUBEN STUDDARD

American Idol - Season 2 Winner!

He was making an "appearance" on CNN to promote his new Broadway show in Atlanta. Luckily, I saw a commercial for the show earlier at the hotel, so I had something to talk about before I asked for his picture. I wasn't the only one who noticed him either, BUT I was the ONLY one who got a picture with him. His physco PR lady stopped all that none sense quick. She wasn't too happy when I had to ask him to wait ...because the memory on my blackberry was full...and I had to delete some pictures! ha ha.